Digital Commons Network^™

The Role Of Neuroscience In Mental Health Management Within The Adhd Population, Kadi Rae Smith

University Honors Theses

Neuroscience-based educational interventions play a role in the management of Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder (ADHD), including the regulation of ADHD-correlated depression and anxiety. Existing research shows that elevated rates of depression correspond to anxiety within the ADHD community; approximately 8.83% of the global population. Social ostracization and isolation are established contributors to depression and anxiety which are commonly comorbid with ADHD. The need exists for further investigation of the beneficial impact that an accurate, biological understanding of how the brain works has on the mental health of the ADHD population, and by extension their families, education systems, and medical industries. …

Trauma In The Middle Ages: The Viking Experience Of Trauma Through Saga, Kagan L. Vogt

University Honors Theses

Trauma is a fundamental part of human experience and the ways in which human beings experience trauma differs drastically depending on the time and culture represented. Research on trauma in the Middle Ages does exist, however, often offers windows into very narrow intersections within the study of historical trauma. Other cultures and particularly oral traditions lack the same attention from scholars in trauma. The specific experience of Vikings as referenced in the oral tradition of sagas offers a unique window into the traumatic experience of Vikings as well as how they responded to trauma. This unique response to trauma is …

Prosecutorial Perceptions Of Discovery Reform On A Local Level, Gabrielle A. Roubanian, Janne E. Gaub, Marthinus C. Koen, James J. Willis

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In recent years, several states in the United States have considered and implemented discovery reforms to regulate how evidence is included and shared as criminal cases play out in the court system. Currently, little research explores how prosecutors have made sense of these reforms and how discovery changes have impacted their day-to-day routines. Consequently, this case study considers how prosecutors at a large prosecutorial agency in the United States made sense of discovery reforms implemented in its state two years before data collection. Findings are based on 35 semi-structured qualitative interviews and highlight how prosecutors experienced the implementation of the …

“They Don’T Want Us Anywhere”: The Impact Of Anti-Homelessness Laws On Unsheltered Residents Of Fort Worth, Texas, Brie Diamond

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Access to public space is not afforded equally amongst the population. Often, the people who must spend most of their time in these spaces, people experiencing homelessness, are barred by local or state law from being there. Fort Worth, Texas, implemented a camping ban in 2019 that prohibits camping on public or private property. This article explores the impact of this ban on unsheltered people experiencing homelessness using semi-structured interviews with 18 people residing in encampments across the city. The findings document the tangible and existential losses endured by this group and the impact on the perception of their place …

Campaigning For Change: How State-Level Groups Advocate For Legislative Sexual Offense Reform, Jennifer L. Wooldridge, Danielle J. S. Bailey, Stephanie Taulli

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"In the criminal justice field, advocacy groups work to better the circumstances for specific groups of people facing perceived injustice. While some advocacy groups have been studied extensively, one type of group – sexual offense reform advocates – has been understudied. This is particularly problematic due to stigmatization and legislative differences in how individuals convicted of sex crimes are supervised compared those convicted of non-sexual offenses. These post-conviction differences make it necessary to better understand these advocacy groups and their processes when fighting for public policy change. The current study examines qualitative interviews conducted with affiliates of a national organization …

Complexities Of Appellate Law: Experiences And Perspectives Of Utah Indigent Appellate Attorneys, Whitney Howey, Stephanie Kathan, Jeremiah W. Jaggers, Chris Cambron

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Indigent appellate attorneys experience high stress due to their unique roles and responsibilities. Very little scientific research examines the lives and experiences of attorneys in the workplace. Characterizing and describing the variety of complexities and challenges Utah appellate attorneys face within their work provides information towards filling the profession’s gaps, stressors, and occupational needs. A sample of five Utah appellate attorneys were interviewed to better understand their perspectives and experiences in the workplace. We used thematic analysis to identify themes related to Utah appellate attorney experiences and perspectives. We identified four major themes from the data, including Personal approach, Working …

Puppycide By Gavel: How The Judiciary Uses The Police Killing Of Dogs To Reinforce Justifications For Police Violence, Jeremy J. Smith

Qualitative Criminology (QC)

"Police discharge their firearms more often at dogs than humans, and as a profession, kill thousands of dogs every year. The number of dogs killed by police during these encounters has government officials declaring that an “epidemic” is occurring within policing itself, with some commentators referring to this trend as “puppycide” or “canicide.” The purpose of this article is to examine how the judiciary rationalizes canicide, or the police killing of dogs, and the role canicide plays in the justification of police violence. To do this, the article provides a sociolegal and ethnographic content analysis of federal court cases and …

October 7 And International Police Cooperation:The Silence Of Interpol, Mathieu Deflem

Faculty Publications

Aim: The aim of this study is to explore the background and interpretation of Interpol’s silence following the terrorist attacks committed by Hamas against Israel on October 7, 2023. The author examines the international policing implications of the events, with special attention to why the world’s largest police organization failed to issue any substantive response.

Methodology: The research is based on a sociological analysis combining a historical and institutional overview of Interpol’s counterterrorism activities with the examination of the organization’s communications and institutional decisions. It relies on qualitative sources and an interpretive, case study-based approach using public documents, records, and …

Self-Representation In Manga: The Importance Of Gay & Lesbian Visibility In Japanese Society, Rylan Newsom

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the evolving landscape of gay and lesbian self-representation in Japanese manga through a hermeneutic analysis of three key texts: My Lesbian Experience with Loneliness by Kabi Nagata, and My Brother's Husband and Our Colors by Gengoroh Tagame. It investigates how manga functions not only as a storytelling medium but as a sociocultural mirror, uniquely positioned to illuminate the often-invisible negotiations of identity, shame, and social position that queer individuals experience in Japan. Through the lens of Takie Lebra's concept of bun (role or place in society), this project explores the ways in which queer characters seek legitimacy, …

El Fandom De Bts Y Su Apropiación De La Significación; Un Estudio De Los Roles Simbólicos Y La Reinterpretación En El Bangtan Universe, Andrea A. Echeverría Barrios

Journal of Roleplaying Studies and STEAM

En el presente artículo se busca hacer un análisis de caso sobre la interpretación de los fans de BTS, ARMY, sobre el Bangtan Universe (BU), tomando como elemento principal en esta investigación el video de “Fake Love”. De esta manera sustentaremos el análisis en autores como Umberto Eco con su obra Lector in Fabula, Barthes de quien tomamos su obra Mitologías y Jenkins quien nos aporta también una amplia explicación sobre nuestro elemento principal los fans. Con las bases anteriores, y algunas referencias más que se irán suscitando a lo largo del trabajo, buscamos analizar la manera en …

Transitional Justice: Understanding The Impact Of The Initiatives In Bosnia-Herzegovina And Guatemala, Rachel Bienstock

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis examines the impact of transitional justice initiatives on reconciliation and healing in regions that have experienced mass atrocities, with a focus on Guatemala and Bosnia and Herzegovina (BiH). While transitional justice processes aim to address the legacies of human rights violations and foster sustainable peace, their impact varies significantly depending on the context and the mechanisms employed. By analyzing existing scholarship and using a case study methodology to gather in-depth data about each instance, this research explores how different approaches to transitional justice can serve a diverse group of communities and how different factors contribute to their success. …

Urban-Rural Divide In Inequality’S Impact On Substance Abuse, Jonathan E. Flores

Undergraduate Theses, Capstones, and Recitals

This thesis focuses on investigating the relationship between income inequality, measured through the Gini coefficient, and drug addiction, proxied through substance-related mortality. Specifically, this thesis focuses on how these dynamics vary across rural and urban counties in the United States, using population size as a proxy. County-level data from 2016 to 2020 were collected through both the CDC and the Census Bureau and subsequently analyzed using Stata, with crude death rates from drug and alcohol causes serving as a function of the Gini coefficient, labor force participation, racial composition, and other socioeconomic indicators. Through a quadratic version of the model, …

The Current 'Ban-Demic': School Book Bans In The U.S., Barbara Perez, Jane Caputi

Dialogue: The Interdisciplinary Journal of Popular Culture and Pedagogy

This essay examines the alarming rise of U.S book. Our stance is grounded in our experiences as educators and academics in Florida, the state with the highest number of book bans and legislation that has significantly impacted education. Book bans infringe on freedom of expression, right to access information, = students’ right to education, and real harm to targeted communities (i.e., LGBTQIA+ and BIPOC communities), as the bans contribute to the ongoing marginalization and stigmatization of these communities. Diverse representation is key in literature and education. Banning popular culture texts from the classroom stifles critical thinking, social dialogue, and, ultimately, …

Pod 20th Anniversary Publication 2025, Project Open Door

Publications + Documents + Videos

RISD Project Open Door (POD) is celebrating 20 years and its commitment to supporting access to art education.

In early June community members gathered at Woods-Gerry to view work by current POD students and alums in an exhibition that featured paintings, sculptures, photographs and other works.

Professor Emeritus Paul Sproll, founder of the program, spoke at the June event about POD’s inception in 2005. “This show reflects the strong community behind Project Open Door,” he said. “Thank you RISD, thank you students, thank you alums and thank you supporters. This work is important, and I hope it will continue for …

Who Gets To Be A Child And When? The Pervasive Yet Contextually Shaped Nature Of Racialized Adultification Across Perceivers And Contexts, Kevin M. Summers

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Racialized adultification is a pervasive bias in which individuals tend to judge Black children as older and more adult-like than White children of the same age. This racial bias is discussed across many scientific domains in addition to popular media, yet there is relatively little empirical work documenting its existence, consequences, and boundary conditions. In the current work, I aim to develop an empirical foundation that advances scientific understanding of racialized adultification and in turn contributes to a growing model that elucidates the conditions under which individuals are disproportionately likely to express this pernicious bias. In the current work, I …

Structural Racism And Mass Shooting Events In Mountain West Cities, 2015-2019, Mohit Pande, Nicole Diaz Del Valle, Olivia K. Cheche, Caitlin J. Saladino, William E. Brown Jr.

Criminal Justice

This fact sheet presents data on the link between social and demographic metrics of principal cities in four Mountain West metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs): Phoenix, AZ; Tucson, AZ; Denver, CO; and Las Vegas, NV. This fact sheet also reports the number of people affected by mass shooting events (MSEs) as originally reported in “Association Between Markers of Structural Racism and Mass Shooting Events in Major US Cities,” published by The Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) Surgery. The original article derives data from 865 MSEs across 51 MSAs in the United States.

A Ritual Of Institutions: The State Industrial School In Golden, Colorado And The Shaping Of American Youth, Cyndal Groskopf

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This thesis investigates the Colorado State Industrial School as a ritualistic institution that influenced boys aged 7 to 19 through Americanization practices between 1881 and 1930. By employing primary documentation, drone imagery, and LiDAR technology, the study examines how cultural and physical activities, along with personal statements, described and maintained the ritualized nature among these incarcerated youth. The findings reveal how institutional routines and activities reinforced narratives of American identity, particularly in relation to themes of personal identity, conformity, and agency. These rituals played a crucial role in institutionalizing cultural ideals and shaping the identities of marginalized youth. The research …

An Auto-Criticism Exploration Of An International Transracial Adoption, Jessica M. Morganfield

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative dissertation explores the lived experience of international transracial adoption through the combined methodologies of auto-criticism and journaling. Using a first-person, insider-led approach, this study addresses four central research questions: (1) What experiences emerge when an adult adoptee reflects on their childhood as an international transracial adoptee? (2) How do identity development, cultural socialization, and experiences of racial and adoptive microaggressions intersect and influence an individual? (3) How does auto-criticism uniquely describe the international transracial adoptee experience? and (4) How might journaling serve as a research tool for data collection and analysis?

Daily journaling over a 30-day period functioned …

Culture And Environment: The Calling Lakes Ecomuseum As A Community Sustainability Initiative, Kace N. Anders

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Located in Saskatchewan, Canada, the Calling Lakes Ecomuseum, CLEM, is a community-based organization focused on water management and sustainability. Ecomuseums are holistic organizations that occupy landscapes, are responsive to community needs, conserve in situ heritage, and incorporate sustainability along with community development. The ecomuseum movement came from a need for holistic heritage management that disengaged with conventional museology and created space for communities to engage with their heritage in ways that promote community identity. This thesis analyzes the Calling Lakes Ecomuseum and how it utilizes the ecomuseum concept alongside environmental sustainability. Both semi-structured interviews and place-based field observations were used …

The Improvement Regime: Public Trusts, Real Estates, And India’S Urban Futurities, Anwesha Ghosh

Articles

Over the last two decades, since scholarly writing on India witnessed an “urban turn,” numerous historians have analyzed the role of the improvement trust in the redevelopment of Indian cities in the twentieth century, most specifically those of Bombay, Calcutta, and Delhi. This paper revisits and reassesses some of their key arguments to suggest that rather than studying the “failures” of the individual trusts to foster sanitary built environments, we should pay attention to the contingent workings of the city trusts that were constitutively designed for such failures. Using a comparative analysis of the Bombay and Calcutta improvement trusts, this …

Political Ecologies Of The Livestock Industry, Jecca Bowen

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In the United States today, livestock production is dominated by an intensified, industrialized production paradigm whose growth in recent decades has utterly transformed the logistical realities and community impacts of animal agriculture. This dissertation investigates the effects of this production paradigm on livestock producers—whose decision-making is shaped by multi-scalar and often contradictory forces—as well as residents living near these large operations. To do so, I draw upon mixed-methods fieldwork, including in-depth interviews, spatial analysis, and field odor measurements in Weld and Morgan Counties in northern Colorado. I also use political ecologies of emotion, embodiment, and health to examine the complex …

Exploring The Effects Of Africana Studies On Black Undergraduate Students: A Qualitative Case Study, Lanaya M. Butler

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Particularly in the context of American K-12 schools, education has been manipulated to control—rather than liberate—students through the erasure and distortion of Black history, experiences, perspectives, and capabilities. Additionally, American schools prioritize memorization and obedience while failing to equip students with critical thinking skills. As a result, students are trained to become workers rather than innovators, worldbuilders, and change-makers. For nearly a century, Black educational critics have stated that these systems were designed to subjugate Black community members through dehumanization and enslavement of the mind. These critiques are foundational to the aims of Afrocentric education which posits the life experiences …

Conceptualizing The Explanatory Fully Longitudinal Mixed Methods Case Study Design: A Demonstration With An Arithmetic Education Trial With Kindergarten Children, Menglong Cong

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

In employing longitudinal mixed methods designs, researchers have commonly used the fully longitudinal mixed methods design. This has occurred mostly in the health sciences but less in education. The current investigation proposes a novel longitudinal mixed methods research design, explanatory fully longitudinal mixed methods case study design. It demonstrates its potential for addressing research inquiries in educational research using the arithmetic learning trajectories datasets. This study is presented in three components. The first is a quantitative phase, selecting an exploratory case from a previous arithmetic learning trajectories study (Clements et al., 2021) for qualitative analyses based on maximizing the …

The Embodiment And Experiences Of Gender Euphoria Among Transgender And Nonbinary Communities: A Mixed Methods Inquiry, Brendon T. Holloway

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Gender euphoria is a critical aspect of embodiment for transgender and nonbinary (TNB) people that has long been overshadowed in academic research by deficit narratives and gender dysphoria. While gender dysphoria is the distress an individual may experience related to their gender, gender euphoria encapsulates the positive emotions a TNB person may experience because of positive gendered experiences. Despite community documentations of gender euphoria since the 1970s, academic research on gender euphoria has only recently begun to emerge. This three-paper dissertation advances this body of scholarship by exploring how gender euphoria is conceptualized, experienced, and embodied in TNB communities. Utilizing …

How Executive Leaders Build Trust: Navigating Organizational Disruption During The Covid-19 Mega-Crisis, Marji Karish

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

The COVID-19 pandemic, declared a global health crisis by the World Health Organization (WHO) on March 11, 2020, created a “mega-crisis” characterized by intersecting physiological, economic, political, social, and cultural disruptions. This study examines how senior organizational executives narrate their response to the crisis, focusing on their engagement with organizational stakeholders. Using a constructivist grounded theory methodology, I conducted in-depth interviews with 12 organizational leaders to construct the Theory of Social Crisis Leadership Communication (SCLC).

Findings highlight the centrality of trust as an interdependent relationship in which executive leaders and organizational stakeholders rely on each other to navigate crises successfully. …

Examining The Impact Of Legalized Sports Gambling On Ncaa Athletes' Welfare And Game Integrity, Reem Al Jaradi

University Honors Theses

This thesis examines the effects of legalized sports gambling on NCAA player welfare and the integrity of competition through a mixed-method analysis of NCAA reports, academic literature, and media sources. Data disclose that although the overall prevalence of gambling among student-athletes has decreased, these individuals are demonstrating more detrimental behaviors, including solitary gaming and incurring substantial losses in a single day. The emphasis on internet abuse associated with betting results has escalated, especially during prominent tournaments. The NCAA's instructional programs and data-monitoring agreements are compromised by ethical issues surrounding data monetization and varying state gambling rules. The research contends that …

Stewards Of Place, Stewards Of Democracy: The Role Of Regional Public Universities In Rural Political Well-Being, Katie Kleinhesselink

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

This qualitative embedded single-case study explored how a rural-serving regional public university (RPU) contributed to the political well-being of its politically polarized service region ahead of the 2024 presidential election. Guided by the stewardship of political place theoretical framework, which integrates rural consciousness, the Community Capitals Framework, and the stewardship of place framework for RPUs’ public engagement, the study utilized policy discourse analysis to examine regional residents' and internal constituents' perceptions regarding WPU’s role in promoting regional political well-being. Data collection included semi-structured interviews, direct observations of campus civic engagement events, and institutional document reviews.

The study demonstrates that regional …

Peering Into The Past And Future: Connection, Challenge, Growth, And Rural Peer Mentors, Tinker Elizabeth Jacobs Duclo

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Peer mentoring is a recognized strategy for supporting student success, academic persistence, and belonging in higher education. However, while mentee benefits are well-documented, the long-term effects on peer mentors (PMs) remain underexplored, particularly at Rural-Serving Institutions (RSIs). My evaluation bridges that gap by examining the lasting impact of PM service through a qualitative evaluation of the Rifle Colorado Mountain College (CMC) Peer Mentor Program. Guided by Rural Cultural Wealth (RCW) theory and using the Most Significant Change (MSC) model within a constructivist framework, my evaluation centers alumni PM voices, gathering their reflections on the significant changes and impacts of their …

Home Bound: Explaining The Neoliberalization Of Regional Public University Districts Through An Explanatory Sequential Mixed Methods Design, Becket C. Duncan

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

I examined housing costs in neoliberalized consumer spaces (Cunningham, 2016; Saunders & Ramírez, 2017) in regional public university (Orphan, et al., 2022) districts. I use geographic methods (Jonas, et al., 2015; Daché-Gerbino, 2018) with an explanatory sequential mixed methods design and a complex case study approach (Creswell & Plano Clark, 2018). Results from my spatial analyses showed that residents who live within one-half mile of universities spend more on monthly housing costs ($1,331) than those who do not ($1,227) except in the case of regional public universities ($1,184). Results from a regression analysis demonstrated that eight institutional variables predicted 33.2% …

Why Yelling Feels Like The Only Option (And What To Try Instead), Vanessa Brouse

Student Works

Why Yelling Feels Like the Only Option (and What to Try Instead) explores how emotional dysregulation in parents can lead to reactive patterns like yelling, shutting down, or withdrawing, and how these responses impact children’s emotional development. Drawing on principles of emotional regulation, the piece offers practical, compassionate strategies for parents to break intergenerational cycles and build stronger, more connected relationships with their children. This article is especially relevant for parents, caregivers, and educators interested in trauma-informed parenting, emotional resilience, and behavior challenges.